Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic Ocean
The most remote inhabited island in the world…
Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited island in the world. We made it! After some very exciting weather yesterday at Gough Island, Endeavour headed north some 220 miles to this quiescent volcano. Would wind and sea allow a landing? Fortunately for us, the elements determining all activity in the Southern Ocean settled into benign repose. Upon arrival off the settlement, ‘Edinburgh of the Seven Seas,’ we found light winds and a bit of a swell, but nothing to impede our exploration of this lonely island.
Discovered in 1506 by the Portuguese navigator Tristao d’Acunha, this speck of land halfway between South Africa and South America was not permanently settled until 1811. Jonathan Lambert, of Salem, Massachusetts, a sometimes whaler, decided to take possession of the island. He re-named it The Isle of Refreshment, intending to prosper by provisioning passing ships. And prosper he did, until drowning in a fishing mishap two years later. His surviving companion was joined in 1816 by a rather unlikely British garrison sent out from Cape Town. Napoleon had met his Waterloo, and been exiled to St. Helena, some 1,300 miles north of Tristan. The admirals were worried that any nearby islands might be used as staging posts for an attempt to free the Emperor from his oceanic gaol. Of course the admirals had never been to Tristan to ponder firsthand the absurdity of this idea.
The beginning of a community.
Sense prevailed after only a year, and the garrison was withdrawn. But the allure for some minds of the remote oceanic isle is so strong that a settlement was born. Corporal William Glass of Scotland, along with his wife and two children, petitioned to stay on the island with several companions. Lambert’s vision was valid – a living could be made here. Reasonably fertile ground, pure water and productive seas promised the realization of ‘Isle of Refreshment.’ Tristan da Cunha lay directly on the course for ships from the northern hemisphere making their way into the Indian Ocean, and Right whales, and whalers, occurred in abundance. The tiny community was enriched by additional adventurers - shipwrecked seamen from Britain, the US and Italy. Women came from St. Helena, Cape Town and Ireland. By the mid-1800’s Tristan was regularly visited by both merchants and whalers.
The descendants of these hardy 19th century colonists greeted us warmly today. We visited the tiny museum and post office, and were treated to a reception at the Administrator’s house. Many visited the ‘potato patches,’ two miles distant from the village, where the islanders concentrate their modest agricultural effort. With albatross wheeling above grazing cows and sheep, and travelers mingling with some of the most isolated people on earth, the afternoon took on a lovely and surreal aspect that only the most remote places provide. We look forward to sharing more of our adventures in the Tristan da Cunha group of islands in the coming days.
The most remote inhabited island in the world…
Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited island in the world. We made it! After some very exciting weather yesterday at Gough Island, Endeavour headed north some 220 miles to this quiescent volcano. Would wind and sea allow a landing? Fortunately for us, the elements determining all activity in the Southern Ocean settled into benign repose. Upon arrival off the settlement, ‘Edinburgh of the Seven Seas,’ we found light winds and a bit of a swell, but nothing to impede our exploration of this lonely island.
Discovered in 1506 by the Portuguese navigator Tristao d’Acunha, this speck of land halfway between South Africa and South America was not permanently settled until 1811. Jonathan Lambert, of Salem, Massachusetts, a sometimes whaler, decided to take possession of the island. He re-named it The Isle of Refreshment, intending to prosper by provisioning passing ships. And prosper he did, until drowning in a fishing mishap two years later. His surviving companion was joined in 1816 by a rather unlikely British garrison sent out from Cape Town. Napoleon had met his Waterloo, and been exiled to St. Helena, some 1,300 miles north of Tristan. The admirals were worried that any nearby islands might be used as staging posts for an attempt to free the Emperor from his oceanic gaol. Of course the admirals had never been to Tristan to ponder firsthand the absurdity of this idea.
The beginning of a community.
Sense prevailed after only a year, and the garrison was withdrawn. But the allure for some minds of the remote oceanic isle is so strong that a settlement was born. Corporal William Glass of Scotland, along with his wife and two children, petitioned to stay on the island with several companions. Lambert’s vision was valid – a living could be made here. Reasonably fertile ground, pure water and productive seas promised the realization of ‘Isle of Refreshment.’ Tristan da Cunha lay directly on the course for ships from the northern hemisphere making their way into the Indian Ocean, and Right whales, and whalers, occurred in abundance. The tiny community was enriched by additional adventurers - shipwrecked seamen from Britain, the US and Italy. Women came from St. Helena, Cape Town and Ireland. By the mid-1800’s Tristan was regularly visited by both merchants and whalers.
The descendants of these hardy 19th century colonists greeted us warmly today. We visited the tiny museum and post office, and were treated to a reception at the Administrator’s house. Many visited the ‘potato patches,’ two miles distant from the village, where the islanders concentrate their modest agricultural effort. With albatross wheeling above grazing cows and sheep, and travelers mingling with some of the most isolated people on earth, the afternoon took on a lovely and surreal aspect that only the most remote places provide. We look forward to sharing more of our adventures in the Tristan da Cunha group of islands in the coming days.
